Chapter XCIII: Siege of Limansk Part 5, The End Draws Near

Searing pain struck into every strand of Boris' being. His eyes darted open from shock and agony. The blue and grey sky spread across his vision, corners of it picking up vague shapes. These figures turned out to be Stitch, Rogue and Micha, towering over Boris looking concerned. Boris tried to speak but only a whimper came out. Rogue crouched to give him a sip of water, and only when the cool liquid splashed down his throat did Boris understand the levels of dryness in his body. Despite the pain, he rose to a sitting position.

• What happened? All this fainting is starting to get old, Boris complained.

• A Sinner leader, apparently called Acedia, did the whole jihadist thing and went kaboom on you. Without the Nosorog you'd be dead meat, and even with it you took some heavy hits, Micha said, pointing at the battleplate resting nearby.

• How bad?

• Well, it's a miracle you're still alive. You've got wounds that have still yet to heal, new wounds and lacerations. If you continue on like this you won't see the end of this week, Stitch continue in a grim tone.

• Better not take more hits then, Boris said in a cheery tone, trying to hide the pain aching in his body.

• No, Boris. You'll die if you don't stop fighting this instance. You've lost a lot of blood, your body is recovering ever slower, it can't take much more. You need to rest for at least a few weeks, Stitch ordered.

• Fuck no. This is bigger than any of us. If Limansk falls, it's no mere setback. It sets back the whole Europe. Those fanatic bastards turn us all into slaves. I can fight and try to stop it, and if I die, I die like a man, not some wounded dog limping to cover to be put down.

• I hate to disagree boss, but in your condition..., Micha tried to intervene.

• Shut it. I won't leave. Either accept it or step out of the way, I'm seeing this to the end. Whether it kills me or not.

Micha sighed and shot an exasperated look at Stitch and Rogue, the former shrugging and latter scoffing. Boris brushed them aside, rose up and took a few pained steps towards his exoskeleton, his entire body screaming for him to stop. But go on he did, and eventually in a wobbly step he reached the Nosorog, opening it up and putting on the behemoth of a battle armour. Dented, scorched and with spots of dried blood, it nonetheless felt like home for Boris, a trusty companion. The life support systems of the venerable machine turned on, and the pain drained away, leaving only a dull ache in his limbs and torso behind. He took a step forward, the servos and powerpack humming loudly. It was time to return to the front.

When Boris started stomping away, Rogue and Micha raced after him. As they reached the Redemption leader, Boris asked them to give him a situation report, having missed the aftermath of the attack on the gastronom. Micha begun to explain the situation:

• Sin forces tried to counterattack shortly after you got hit, but Sanyok's task force ripped them to shreds. Duty begun a full-blown assault on the bridge outpost backed by Sanyok and his boys, and they took it over in a bloody battle, Zakarov and Vityukha especially went fucking ballistic when they thought you bit the bullet... Or grenade in this instance. Anyway, Duty suffered plenty of losses and Freedom came to reinforce them, the two groups bicker there so much that Sanyok periodically sneaks here to get a bit of peace and quiet.

• Good. We'll rally the squad there and move out, Boris replied.

They soon reached the river outpost and its defenders, Sanyok greeting them with the rest of his squad. Boris could see worry in his eyes, mixed in with battle fatigue. Boris' squad had set up camp at the riverside, Vova and Toha enjoying a meal next to a pitiful campfire. They greeted Boris with jokes and laughter, and he squatted next to them, ignoring yet another surge of pain. Toha gave him a bread with canned meats and tomatoes spread on it, and only then did Boris realise how hungry he was. While decimating his meal, he explained the plan to the large crowd gathered nearby. Swift strike at the construction site, linking up with Dimuha's squad, and then a rush towards the radiological institute. If Dima's mission had succeeded, this last step could be done with less urgency.

Having finished his meal, Boris rose up and prepared his weapons. The construction site was a fortress, a proper Monte Cassino, the only path there providing meager cover from snipers and the entrance a narrow killzone. Just as he was about to order the Redemption force to move forward, a familiar man approached them. Captain Orlov, followed by his companion, Lieutenant Veselov, asked Boris for a permission to join the attack, which Boris granted. As he gave the order to move out, Orlov spoke to him in a hushed tone:

• I saw those wounds of yours. How the hell are you now leading an attack?

• Sheer willpower, stubborness and incredible stupidity, mixed with a bit of fool's luck, Captain. That've been the things keeping me going from renegade to Redemption leader.

• Damn, so the stories are true? You were a renegade once? Colour me impressed, you've done well.

• Perhaps. But it will all be for naught if we fail now. Besides, I'm not doing this for glory or to win any favours upstairs, I genuinely despise what I did back then and if this makes up for even a tiny bit of it, it's worth it.

Orlov nodded, seemingly sinking into his thoughts. Veselov had clearly listened as well but maintained a facade of blankness. The squad, or more like a platoon now, left the safety of the river outpost, heading down the twisting and turning pavements of Limansk. The anomaly field consisting of teleportation anomalies pulsated among wrecks of buses, and Rogue commented that he wished Wayfarer was still alive, this kind of a maze would be right up his alley. Toha announced that this would not be a biggie, and took lead. The young sniper seemed at ease with the anomalies, using bolts to determine even the smallest gaps among them. Amusingly, the first bolt he threw at the anomalies sprang straight out of them and landed at Vova's head, who shook his fist at the chuckling Toha. He soon determined a route right at the edge of the field where a man could pass, and slowly the entire unit passed by, following carefully in the footsteps of the Redeemed marksman.

• Alright, that dreadful portal hell is behind us. Sanyok, please reveal the secret weapon, Boris ordered with a gleeful grin.

• With pleasure, bossman, Sanyok said and opened his backpack, pulling out a weapon.

A black six-shot weapon was balanced between Sanyok's hands. With a mechanical clunk the cylinder was opened, and Sanyok slipped six VOG-25 grenades into their places. The RG-6, one of the rarest and deadliest weapons in the Zone, was now ready. Everyone looked at the magnificent launcher with wide eyes, such things were truly sought after and for a good reason.

• And here we have it, lads. This beauty will turn that construction site into a destruction site in less than a minute. Toha and Rogue, lay down some fire as well. Rest of you, follow me, time to put an end to the lunatics! Sanyok, you may fire when ready!, Boris roared.

Sanyok nodded and raised the grenade launcher to his shoulder. A dry sound, almost like a spring released, rang out, followed seconds later by a thundering explosion. The Redemption force rushed onwards, Boris, Micha and Vityukha rushing on while the others followed. One explosion after another filled the hill with fire, the seconds of quiet between the blows taken over by crackling machine gun fire from Rogue. The final grenade shook the half-finished building as Boris advanced through the gates, surprising staggered Sin survivors. His Korean shotgun broke into a crescendo of death, and slugs dug deep into the flesh of his enemies. The agony of earlier washed away, adrenaline flowing into him like a drug into heroin addict.

Sanyok had swept the floors clear. The entire building was filled with smoke and dust, and the Sin defence was broken. Vityukha and Zakarov battled on like spirits of vengeance, slaying fanatics who dared oppose them. Micha kept his eyes on Boris, following him through the smoke. Vova, Mihas and Edik stormed the yard behind the building, where a Sin reinforcements flooded in. While they tried to get up the rather steep edge of a crater leading into the street below, the three Redeemed took aim and ambushed the attackers. One of the lunatics screamed horribly when hit, but instead of slumping down, he rushed them while shouting obscenities. A bullet struck Edik in the chest, killing him on the spot. Mihas slammed the zealot with two full barrels of buckshot but it did nothing. The Sinner attacked him in close quarters combat.

Vova jumped into the struggle and the combined blades of the two Redeemed forced the zealot to retreat. Mihas, wounded by the skirmish, tried to retreat too, only to be hit by the zealot's rifle in the arm. He would have been slain on the spot by yet more shots, but Orlov intervened at the nick of time. His venerable World War 2-era rifle barked once, and the cultist's grey matter got sprayed across the wall next to him. Panting, Mihas got up, only to collapse down again. Vova turned to take care of his wounds, giving Orlov a grateful look.

In the construction site, Boris swept the final floor clear with Micha, Vityukha and Zakarov. A wounded Sin commander, a Castigator, lay there, left hand and right foot blown off. He coughed blood over his suit, his gasmask torn to shreds. But despite his condition, he smiled arrogantly.

• Ahh, Boris Unforgiven. Shame Acedia never got you, but then again the man could never achieve anything in his life anyway, such a sloth that man. I'm in no condition to do so either, but it seems you're a walking corpse already. Too bad, such a journey to get here, only to end up dead at the eleventh hour, the leader gloated.

• Such arrogance coming from a man about to die, and for a worthless cause, Boris replied mockingly.

• Arrogance always was my peril, I'll admit so, I'm not called Hubris for nothing. Yet today it is not that. I am in the right here, my cause is just and I have earned my place with Vyraj, waiting for the day the Zone claims the Earth.

• What a load of shit. Well, it was a nice chat, but I can only take a limited doze of batshit insane a day, so farewell, zealot.

The ever-faithful Tokarev pistol swung out of its holster and a single shot rang out. The last sigh of the Sin commander dissipated into the cold winter air. Boris re-holstered his pistol and joined the others downstairs. They held a small service for Edik while the Dutyers kept watch. In the Limansk construction site, where Redemption had one yet another small victory against the tides of madness, Edik Armorer, loyal son of Redemption, was laid to rest. With a heavy heart, Boris turned his attention to the institute close by. It was time to end this, once and for all.